Desk blotter holder and method of making same



dan. 11, 1938.

F.' S. SCHADE DESK BLOTTER HOLDER AND METHOD. OF MAKING SAME Filed NOV. 27, 1956 INVENTOR ffm/vk STM/fr Scl/wf -BYewxmfa ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 11, 1938 PATENT oFFics DESK BLOTTER HOLDER AND METHOD F MAKING SAME Frank Stanley Schade,

Holyoke, Mass., assigner to National Blank Book Company, Holyoke, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application November 27, 1936, Serial No. 112,839

3 Claims.

This invention relates to anirnprovement in desk blotters or blotter holders and to the method of Vmaking the improved product.

The principal object of the invention is to provide an attractive form of blotter holder so constructed that it may be manufactured at an eX- ceedingly low price.

Other and further objects and advantages will be made apparent in the following specification and claims.

As heretoforeconstructed, articles of this character have required a substantial amount of hand work in their manufacture and such hand labor alone has necessitated a relatively high cost. a My improved construction makes possible a k method of manufacture which not only is adapted to machine manufacture but makes machines already used for the rapid manufacture of such artic-les as binder casings, available for the manufacture of desk blotter holders. Because of the advantages and economies ofmachine production `and the fact that specialized machinery is not necessary in its production, my structure and Vmethod make it possible to produce more attractive and serviceable blotter holders at a cost within the range of distribution through and 10 cent stores.

In the accompanying drawing,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the holder elements arranged for the machine operation;

y Fig. 2 isa similar view of the parts as they leave the casing machine;

Fig. 3 is a similar view of the completed article, parts being broken away to show its construction;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view similar to Fig. 1 showing a modified form of construction; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary View showing a further modication.

Referring to the drawing, I0 indicates a sheet of suitable cover material such as decorative paper, fabric, or imitation leather.Y On the undecorated face of sheet Ill I arrange a main panel II and two flanking side panels I2, all preferably of cardboard. The side panels are spaced, as indicated at I3, from the main panel a distance suicient to form a hinge zone as later described. The main panel II is given the dimensions desired in the finished holder. The height of the three panels is the same and the side panels are positioned with their top and bottom edges aligned with the top and bottom edges of the main panel. The dimensions of sheet III are made suiiiciently greater than the overall flat (Cl. 1Z0-24) dimension of the panel assembly to provide extending marginal'portions i5 providing suiiicient material to be folded over and pasted down on the adjacent marginal portions of the exposed yface of the panels as shown in Fig. 2. The structure is thus formed into a unit with the side panels I2 hinged to the sides of the main panel I I by the portion of the cover sheet which bridges Y the spaces-I3. Y

The structural steps so far described may be carried out in a conventional casing building machine and with exactly the same facility since the structure in this stage is, from the viewpoint of the machine, identical in form to a loose leaf binder casing, except for the changed dimensions of the panels.

With the structure in the form shown in Fig. 2 the side panels I2 are swung about their hinge zones I3, 180 to overlie the main panel. The side panels are pasted, or otherwise secured to the underlying main panel at theirend portions only, as indicated at I6.. Decorative rivets may be employed as the securing means'if desired. The unsecured intermediate portions of the side panels form pockets in which the end portions I'l of a blotter I8 may be inserted. The corners of the blotter I8 are cut olf so as not to interfere with the pasted area I6 of the pocket panels.

If desired,.a decorated lining sheet I9 may be applied over the main and side panels when the d latter are in flat form as shown in Fig.` 4, but this is not essential as the uncovered portion of panel II is covered by theblotter I8 when the holder is in use.

Alternatively, the main and side panels need not4 be completely separated from each other when placed on the cover sheet. If preferred, the end panels may be only partially separated from each other as by perforations in Fig. 5. It is only necessary that the openings or other partial separation provide sufficient space for displacement of the intervening cardboard material when the side panels are swung onto the main panel. Suitable openings such as 20 are the equivalent of the complete spacing at I3 in the other figures, and the term spaced is used here and in the claims to include the partial spacing .provided by perforations or other form of partial separation, such as cuts or creases. The essential feature of my construction is its adaptability for manufacturing in an initially flat form, based on the conception of simultaneously structurally completing the three panel elements in flat hinged relation so that the parts are brought into nal relative position by merely swinging the side panels about their hinges onto the main panel. I believe this is a wholly novel concept for the building of blotter holders.

As above pointed out, my method of constructing the holder so reduces the manufacturing costs as to open up entirely new elds of distribution and permit a broader use of these holders. If the need is to meet strictly price competition, cheap materials such as paper or cardboard can be used and still provide a sturdy, attractive, and serviceable holder. If the need is to meet quality competition at a given price, the saving in manufacturing costs permits the use of high grade materials. This is particularly important when the manufacturer is working inthe low` price field. The principal function of the paper cover is decorative and, except while the side panels are being swung into position and the cover paper (and liner if used) acts as a hinge, no .tearing or other strain is placed on it. All edges of the panels are individually bound except at the hinge and no strain is placed on the paper when the blotter is inserted. Consequently much attention may be given to the wearing quality of the decorative surface.

The invention disclosed puts practically the whole manufacturing burden on a. conventional case making machine., The latter will complete the holder as it completes a casing for a loose leaf binder. Then one will have the desk blotter by merely turning over the side panels and pasting them down at zones I6 shown in Fig. 2. On account of the exceedingly low cost of completing the article, it will be readily appreciated that a larger proportion of its total cost can be put in the quality of its material to make a better article at a given selling price.

I claim:

1. The method of making desk blotter holders which comprises hinging narrow pocket forming side panels to a central blotter supporting panel by applying a unitary cover sheet to the panels in iiat form and thereafter swinging said side panels about their hinges into overlying relation with the end portions of the main panel and securing the upper and lower end portions of the side panels to the main panel 'whereby the unsecured portions of the side panels form pockets for the reception of the side portions of a blotter.

2. The method of making desk blotter holders which comprises assembling on a sheet of cover material a central blotter supporting panel, having height and width dimensions substantially equal to those desired for the finished holder, together with side pockets forming panels of the same height but of less Width than the central panel, the side panels being arranged at opposite sides of the central panel with the top and bottom edges of the three panels in alignment and with their adjacent edges parallel and slightly spaced from each other by at least a partial separation of the panels, the cover sheet on which the panels are assembled having greater overall height and width dimensions than the overall height and width dimensions of the flat panel assembly to provide extending margin portions around the four sides of the assembly, folding said margin portions over the edges of the panel assembly and pasting said portions down on the marginal portions of the panel assembly thereby forming a unitary structure with the side panels hinged to the central panel by the cover sheet, swinging the side panels about their so formed hinges onto the side portions of the central panel and securing the upper and lower end portions of the side panels to the central panel whereby side pockets are provided to receive the side portions of a blotter.

3. A desk blotter holder which comprises a main cardboard panel to underlie the blotter area, narrow pocket forming side panels of cardboard superimposed on the side marginal portions of the main panel, anda unitary cover sheet extending over the backY of the main panel and the front faces of the side panels, with portions of the cover sheet extending forwardly around the top and bottom edges of the main panel and rearwardly around the top, bottom, and free pocket edges of the side panels forming individual nish bindings for said edges, said side panels being secured tothe main panel at their upper and lower end portions only.

FRANK STANLEY SCHADE. 

